The wide use of acetylacetone (Acac) in industries is fueling the need for the development of Acac detection methods. However, only a few nanomaterial-based fluorescent probes for Acac have been reported, and these probes either lack turn-on detection capability, and/or aqueous compatibility. Herein, a series of iridium(III) dimers were synthesized in one step and screened as luminescent probes for Acac. The candidate probe 8 exhibited a luminescence enhancement of near 160-fold in the presence of Acac in aqueous solution, with a linear relationship of Acac (0.1–10 μM) and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.043 μM. Mechanistically, the probe chelated with Acac to form a new luminescent complex. Moreover, the long lifetime of probe 8 allowed its response to Acac to be distinguished from fluorescent interference through time-resolved emission spectroscopy (TRES). Probe 8 further demonstrated its practical application as a luminogenic probe for Acac in real water samples. In summary, because probe 8 is very easily prepared and modified compared with existing Acac luminescence probes, it serves as an ideal starting point to develop next-generation luminogenic probes for monitoring Acac in environmental and biological systems.

乙酰丙酮（Acac）在工业中的广泛使用引发了对Acac检测方法的发展的需求。但是，仅报道了少数几种基于纳米材料的Acac荧光探针，这些探针缺乏开启检测能力和/或与水的相容性。本文中，一步合成了一系列铱（III）二聚体，并将其筛选为Acac的发光探针。候选探针8在水溶液中存在Acac时显示出近160倍的发光增强，Acac（0.1-10μM）的线性关系和0.043μM的检出限（LOD）。从机理上讲，探针与Acac螯合形成新的发光复合物。而且，探头8的使用寿命长通过时间分辨发射光谱（TRES）可以区分其对Acac的响应与荧光干扰。探针8进一步证明了其作为实际水样品中Acac的发光探针的实际应用。总而言之，由于与现有的Acac发光探针相比，探针8非常容易制备和修改，因此它是开发用于监测环境和生物系统中Acac的下一代发光探针的理想起点。